Weird way to kill a tree

[Ashful]

Saw what appeared to be a partially cut, but still standing tree the other night on my commute:



Closer inspection revealed that someone went all the way around it with a chainsaw, cutting only 2" deep, as if they're trying to kill it. Sort of pissed me off, as its a beautiful tree by the side of a seldom-travelled road.

 

[blades]

Yep, that is known as girdling. Yes, it will kill the tree as it cuts through the membranes that supply nutrients to the upper levels.

 

[rdust]

Looks like an old ash, if so it's gonna die soon enough anyway.

 

[Ashful]

Yep, that is known as girdling. Yes, it will kill the tree as it cuts through the membranes that supply nutrients to the upper levels.

Yeah... but what's the point? If you want it down, take it down. I can't think of any reason I'd want a standing dead ash.

My thinking is that perhaps someone wanted to take it down, and was refused permission to do so, so they did this to the tree out of spite.

 

[Ehouse]

You should turn it in as a safety hazard. Someone's trying to cheap out at the expense of everyone else's well being. Next to the road like that, it could kill somebody. I had loggers do that on about 40 acres of my woodlot without telling me. Mostly beach which was/is in bad shape but any tree that they thought was crowding a "money" species. They've been coming down at random for the last 15 years.

 

[thewoodlands]

Saw what appeared to be a partially cut, but still standing tree the other night on my commute:

View attachment 102882

Closer inspection revealed that someone went all the way around it with a chainsaw, cutting only 2" deep, as if they're trying to kill it. Sort of pissed me off, as its a beautiful tree by the side of a seldom-travelled road.

View attachment 102883

(broken link removed)

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

That's too bad someone did that. It almost seems as if they did it out of spite. It seems from the pictures, as if it's in good shape, not sick or impeding.

 

[charly]

Cambium layer has been cut,, that's like cutting the garden hose in half,, no more up take for the tree... Trouble is that will start shedding limbs down the road and become a hazard tree... That tree is worth some money, if they got caught they'd be in for some good money out of their pockets. Looks like a lot of water sprouts, telling me improper cuts were made not leaving a branch collar to heal or leaving a branch stub.. That's odd that someone did that right out in public...

 

[charly]

Now I see two new trees were planted behind that one... Maybe someone wants room for the new trees.. I 'd say who ever planted those new trees made the saw cut around the tree. Is that a homeowners property or a park? Apparently that tree is ugly to someone..

 

[Woody Stover]

Grab it!

 

[Ashful]

Homeowner's land. Small house very close to road (and fairly close to that tree), with pasture space behind. Fairly rural area, mostly equestrian farms surrounding it.

Yes, someone planted a new row of trees a few feet further from the road, so this may be part of the explanation.

Very interesting link on the girdled trap trees, zap!

 

[Ralphie Boy]

My neighbor had an arborist from the state come on his property several years ago when he was trying to have his land designated a tree farm. The arborist team girdled all the damaged and weak trees in a case of only the strong survive. I thought, when I saw the first tree, someone had started to take down a tree but ran into a problem. Worked out well for me because the neighbor has given me all the trees close to my line. The score has consisted of ash, red and white oak and mocker nut hickory.

 

[lukem]

A tree has no businesses being that close to a road. Falling branches are a drop in the safety hazard bucket compared to a tree right on the road. Chances are good the municipality is taking it out (with good reason) and girdled before the leaves pop too much.

 

[bogydave]

Not done in a very "stealth mode" to be anything sinister.

Might be a good tree to get the firewood from but not a fun one to put on the ground

 

[Ashful]

A tree has no businesses being that close to a road. Falling branches are a drop in the safety hazard bucket compared to a tree right on the road. Chances are good the municipality is taking it out (with good reason) and girdled before the leaves pop too much.

You are so clearly not from Pennsylvania! This road hazard is so tame I don't even notice it as such. There's another much larger tree just a few hundred yards up the road from this that WILL take off your roof or passenger side mirror, if you don't move a little into the other lane when passing it, and that's completely common around here.

Outsiders get totally skeeved when they see how we have 5 foot deep drainage ditches running right alongside 45 - 50 mph country roads, with no shoulder, and lanes barely wide enough for two trucks to pass. Growing up here, I always saw it as normal, until pointed out to me. Neighboring states have much "better" roads with shoulders and less blind pull-outs, and wider lanes. But they lack the country charm of ours, and their taxes are 3x - 4x higher.

 

[lukem]

Must not run as much farm equipment around there. That thing would get clipped on a hurry around here.

 

[Mr A]

Every once in a while I read about some freak accident where a tree fell on someone. Not long ago a tree branch fell of an elm in downtown Sacramento crushing a baby in his stroller just walking down the sidewalk. A few years back, a guy fishing along the river, under a tree, a branch fell and killed him.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

What bothers me is seeing how close to the road it is and it is also leaning that way!

I highly doubt the road crew would do this. They have the equipment to take it down very easily without having to gird the tree. If the homeowner did this and the tree does fall and do damage to person or property, methinks he could have some big problems on his hands.

 

[charly]

After doing tree work for years both residential, NYS DOT tree crew- road work and line clearance,,, I see accidents waiting to happen all the time as I drive down the roads... Myself I think they should survey these hazards trees and donate the wood to people who are set up to heat with wood but can't afford to buy their wood...That's a win-win situation in my eyes...

 

[Get Wood]

We did that with loctus trees with a ax then peel the bark down a few inches. That would kill the tree then the next year make fence post. Had some on the farm over 100 yrs in the ground that my grand father put in building fence.

 

[WeldrDave]

I have to ask everyone please, why wasn't it just taken down? I have heard of this process but never seen it till now. Forgive me but I don't quite understand it?

 

[MrWhoopee]

(broken link removed)

I suspect zap's link explains exactly why it was done, to determine the extent of an emerald ash borer infestation.

 

[Ehouse]

I suspect zap's link explains exactly why it was done, to determine the extent of an emerald ash borer infestation.

Any purple boxes aloft?

 

[Paulywalnut]

Is it possible the tree has been infected by the borer already?

 

[Ashful]

No evidence of borer in our locale... yet. There's something that's been killing ash trees since the late-1990's, but it's not the borer. That said, it's been getting closer each year, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's discovered locally this year. So, this may indeed be an EAB detection device, but I'm surprised they'd use a tree so close to the road for this purpose.

We do have lots of farming around, lukem, but it's all small-scale family farms. Mostly places under 200 acres, and even more under 100 acres. Most are using old tractors from the 1960's or 1970's, and most local farmers are at or beyond retirement age. The few younger farmers count on the boutique market to keep the business afloat, such as locally grown organic, hormone-free grass fed beef, etc. I see equipment on the roads every day, but it's mostly smaller stuff. The bigger equipment sticks to the bigger roads. This road is quiet enough that I left my truck parked in the middle of the road without worry, while I got out and walked around the tree to photograph it.